Just The Way You Are
by momoxtoshiro
Summary: "When can I see you again?" "Whenever you want." "Can I see you tomorrow?" "Of course." He promised. "But what will I do until then?" She wondered. "You can relive this moment, like I will." He answered. My and THE very first UrashimaxOtohime fic! Fluff!


**After writing all those RyoushixRyouko stories, I found it unfair to my second favorite couple of the Ookami-san series, hence spawning this. It's very quick and totally original so please don't flame me. I just felt the need to write some fluff for Urashima and Otohime since they're so adorable together :3**

******It is supposed to be post-anime when Urashima and Otohime are working on their 'journeys of self-improvement', whereas Otohime is trying to lose weight to become cute for him. And this is slightly more of a serious kind of relationship as opposed to the crazed, possibly sexual one we all love so much X3 Enjoy!**  


**Disclaimer: I do not own Ookami-san to Shichinin no Nakamatachi.**

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Just The Way You Are

Sunlight filtered through the windows and splashed onto the pale blue walls of Otohime's room.

She blinked her eyes open sleepily before pushing herself up from her comfortably warm bed. She stumbled over to the window and opened it, letting in the Springtime breeze as well as the early morning birdsong.

"A new day." She mumbled to herself with a tiny smile. "A new day to work hard."

She repeated these very words to herself every morning and every morning she remembered that time when she had been standing in the classroom, willingly taking care of all the other kid's cleaning duties. Urashima's handsome face and his kind words were just as fresh in her memory as if it had just happened mere moments ago.

As always, her heart fluttered as she remembered her prince, and she murmured, "Tarou-sama." She straightened up and twirled around once before heading to her bathroom to freshen up, and then returning back to her room. She opened her closet door to reveal her old clothes that were now mostly too big for her, but the one thing she was focused on hung from the door.

It was a long, light aqua dress with long sleeves and ruffles around the collar and down the front. Urashima had given it to her not too long ago and she still remembered everything he had said word for word:

"This is a gift for you when you finally reach your goal. I can't wait to see you look even cuter than you already are." And he had given her the most dazzling smile that had caused her to forget how to breathe after that.

Carefully, she took the dress down from the hanger and removed her pajamas.

Last week, she had just barely missed fitting into it and she felt that this would be the time when she finally achieved success.

She stepped into the dress and slid her slender arms into the soft sleeves. She strained to reach the zipper in back and pull it up. She sucked in her breath, but then let it out; when she finally did fit into this dress, she wanted to do so comfortably and she wanted to be truthful about it.

She tugged with all of her might but the zipper still have several more inches to go and Otohime gave up with a sign.

"No good, huh?" She went over to the calendar on the back of her room's door and placed a red X on the current day with a marker. "Definitely next week!" she made a tight fist with her hand.

She had long since learned that allowing herself to get dejected over failure would only lead to her becoming more depressed and unhappy, which would deter her from her goal of making Urashima happy. So instead, she had quickly learned to perk up and try even harder so that she may accomplish her goal quicker the next time.

She slipped out of the dress that she considered to be her most precious treasure and got into her usual outfit.

Hanging the dress back up again, she went downstairs to prepare a healthy breakfast.

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Urashima walked slowly through the park, the sunset casting long shadows down across the grass.

He sought out the place where Otohime had specified for him to meet her at.

When he had gotten the call from her that morning, he had been baffled about what she could possibly want. Yet he was also extremely happy, for he had not seen her in over a month since he had presented her with the dress. The two of them had decided not to see each other until they had completed their 'personal journeys' so that when they finally did finish them, they could see one another as their rewards; waiting longer would only make it that much more special when they met again at last.

When she had called his cell phone that morning, Urashima had been confused when she had asked to see him that day; surely she had not finished her 'journey' already? But she had insisted that it was urgent and he had, of course, immediately agreed to seeing her.

So now, as he walked along, the white-haired boy wondered what exactly she had called him out for. _What if something's happened to her? _A spark of worry flared inside of him as the thought crossed his mind and he quickened his pace.

Finally, he reached the hill in the park where he had been told to wait for her. Glancing around, however, she was nowhere in sight just yet. Urashima sat down in the grass and sighed, his thoughts now troubled by the possibilities of what she could have needed to tell him at such a time.

He sat for a good 5 minutes before he heard a very familiar voice calling out from a distance.

"Tarou-sama!" It was so wonderful to finally hear her voice in person rather than over the phone. He looked up at the sound of his name and squinted to see the outline of a girl against the setting sun.

Had she not called him by name, he would have expected it to be any other person in the world.

He was beyond amazed.

She had actually done it.

A slim girl with long, flowing, dark aqua pigtails was running toward him from across the hill. She wore a long, light green dress with ruffles down the front that billowed out behind her in the wind. He never would have expected it so soon.

"Otohime…" he murmured in disbelief. He slowly stood to his feet, wondering if he was just seeing things and that an angel had fallen from the clouds. He could not stop the smile from breaking out across his face as she neared him, every second that he saw her smiling face proving to him that this was real.

"Otohime!" He cried out again, louder and more excitedly this time as he opened his arms wide and stepped forward. At the same second, she reached him and gave a little kick off the ground, jumping neatly into his waiting arms. He let himself fall down with her into the grass and he held onto her tightly as they rolled over several times before lying still. He lie on his back with the girl on top of him smiling brightly.

"Tarou-sama!" she nestled her head into his shoulder as she tried to catch her breath.

"Otohime, you did it! You really did it! I can't believe it. You became so cute so quickly!" He hugged her small shoulders even tighter, but not too tight. She was so small and fragile that it felt as though she would break apart at any moment.

Otohime panted for a moment until she finally got her breath back and she replied. "I did it for you, Tarou-sama." She whispered. "Are you proud of me?"

"Of course I am." He stroked his hands through her hair and down her back. Then, he rolled onto his side and gently let her onto the ground. "But how did you do it so quickly?" Then a though crossed his mind and his eyes darkened with seriousness.

He pushed himself up and placed his arms on either side of her shoulders, making the small girl shrink a little, her chest heaving and she frowned up at him. "You…You haven't been starving yourself have you?" he asked, his voice hard.

"No! Of course not!" she cried, tears already beginning to form in her eyes at the thought that he was upset with her. "I've just been eating healthy food and avoiding snacks all this time." She insisted earnestly.

Urashima knew teenage girls these days; they would go to the stupidest, most harmful lengths just to look pretty.

He kept her pinned there a moment longer, his eyes searching hers for any hint of lies, but her aqua irises only shimmered with truth, and little bit of fright, but most of all love. Finally, his face relaxed and a small smile broke across his lips.

"Thank goodness." He sighed, removing his hands from over her.

"Tarou-sama…you were that worried about me?" she asked in a small voice.

"Of course!" he replied immediately. "I love you, Otohime!"

She gasped, gazing up at him for a moment before tears started rolling down her cheeks.

"Tarou-sama! I love you too!" she cried out, reaching up and throwing her arms around his neck.

Urashima smiled and rested his head on her stomach, his faced turned to the side to look up at her. Her eyes were closed as she tried to hold back her tears of joy and her small hands clutched at his shoulders. He reached up and ran his hand through her long, silky hair as she continued to cry, failing to suppress her tears and just allowing them all to run free now. Urashima closed his eyes, still smiling, admiring her and how devoted she was to her goals.

After a while, her sobs finally subsided into small hiccups and her breathing began to even out. She finally opened her eyes and sniffed once, smiling as she stared up at the golden sky with blazing fire mingled between the clouds. The white-haired boy simply looked up at her beautiful, porcelain face, as he savored the feeling of her warm hands on his shoulders. Her stomach rose and fell gently as she breathed and when he closed his eyes, he could hear the steady beating of her heart. For a while, he just listened to that wonderful sound that told him with every beat that this was real, that he had truly found the love of his life, that she loved him back just as much, and that they were truly together.

As the sun went down, Otohime fell into a light slumber for a time, and Urashima let the rhythm of her heartbeat lull him to sleep as well.

They both awoke once more once the stars were beginning to twinkle to life in the dark velvet sky.

Otohime broke the silence with her petite voice.

"Tarou-sama?" she asked sleepily.

"Yes, my princess?"

"Can we stay like this forever?"

"If only we could." He sighed.

"When can I see you again?"

"Whenever you want."

"…Can I see you tomorrow?"

"Of course." He promised.

"I'm so happy." She murmured. "But…what will I do without you until then?" she wondered.

Gently, the boy pushed himself up and Otohime let her hands fall limply to her stomach. Urashima moved up beside her and placed his arms on either side of her body once more.

"What can you do until then?" he repeated her question. She nodded, looking up at him with eyes that reflected the stars. "You can relive this moment, like I will." He answered.

And with that he leaned down and kissed her.

Otohime felt her heart rate skyrocket as it pounded against her ribcage. She had to ask herself countless times if this was real or not. Was it supposed to be so hard to breathe? Was she supposed to feel this tingling in her chest? Was she supposed to feel so warm and calmed and…loved?

There was no way this could be fake.

Closing her eyes, she kissed back shyly as best she could, wanting to freeze in time with him like this forever. But the lack of the pesky little entity called oxygen was getting in the way and at last Urashima pulled away, leaving her gasping for air.

"T…Tarou-sama…" she breathed.

"Will that suffice until tomorrow?" he asked. All she could manage to do was nod and smile up at him.

"Thank you, Tarou-sama…for being here, for finding me and for helping me change."

"And thank you," he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her up into his arms, pressing his ear against her collarbones for a brief moment to listen to her heart. "Thank you for being alive."

She kissed his head.

As Urashima pulled away, he then stood and helped her up alongside him.

"Tarou-sama?"

"Yes?"

"Do you think I should change anything else while I'm at it?" she wondered. "Perhaps I should cut my hair-"

"Don't you dare." He pulled her in again and hugged her tightly. "I love your hair. I love you. I love every single thing about you. Don't you change anything anymore."

"Alright." She whispered into his ear. "I won't. Thank you, Tarou-sama."

"Yes." He smiled. "Your perfect just the way you are."

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**A/N: Sorry it was so short! I do hope you enjoyed!  
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**Please review! **


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